Two men have today been jailed following an attempted robbery in which a pensioner was hit over the head with a stick and ordered to hand over her money.
Jordon Walker, 19 and Nigel James Sullivan, 43, forced their way into the woman’s home in Scarborough.
A judge at York Crown Court today jailed Sullivan for 13 years and sentenced Walker to eight years in a young offenders’ institution.
During the incident in April this year, the 65-year-old victim was confronted in her bedroom by Walker, who had covered his face.
He demanded money and when she said she didn’t have any he struck her head with a wooden stick.
The victim then heard a man’s voice from the landing outside her bedroom door saying: “Have you done her in yet?”
The attackers left empty-handed but were arrested on the Barrowcliff estate after a separate unrelated matter.
The woman was taken to hospital with head injuries but fortunately she was not seriously hurt.
Walker, of Scarborough, pleaded guilty at York Crown Court in June, admitting he had entered the bedroom and struck the pensioner.
Sullivan, also of Scarborough, denied his involvement but was found guilty by a jury after a two-day trial on 29 September 2016.
After the pair were sentenced, Detective Constable Steve Johnson, who led the case for Scarborough’s Serious Crime Team, said: “Nobody should feel unsafe in their own home and I can only imagine how terrifying this ordeal was for the victim.
“It was a nasty, cowardly attack by two men against a woman in her 60s.
“Although incidents such as this are very uncommon, especially in North Yorkshire, I’d urge people to take precautions such as not keeping large amounts of money in their house and locking doors or using a slide chain, even when they are at home.
“While this was a very unpleasant incident, I hope the victim and other residents of North Yorkshire take some comfort in the fact that Walker and Sullivan are now beginning very long terms in prison, where they belong.”
Nigel Sullivan on the left and Walker bending over.
